Phone the vet before you do anything else
Rat poison is designed to work slowly and silently, which is exactly why a dog can look bright and normal while a poisoning is already under way. Do not wait for wobbliness, bleeding, pale gums or any other sign before acting; by the time signs show, the situation is harder to treat. Call your vet, or the emergency practice if yours is closed, explain what he has eaten and follow their instructions on how fast to come in. If you cannot reach a vet immediately, keep trying and start travelling toward the practice rather than watching and waiting at home.
Do not improvise treatment at home
Well-meaning home responses can cause real harm here. Never try to make him vomit unless a vet who knows what he swallowed specifically instructs you, because the right response differs between bait eaten directly and a poisoned rodent, and vomiting can add injury in the wrong case. Do not offer food, milk or home remedies to soak it up, and do not give any medication of any kind unless the vet directs it. Your job in these minutes is information, containment and transport — keep him from eating any more, keep him calm, and get professional help moving.
Gather the evidence the vet will ask for
While someone else phones or drives, collect what you safely can. Keep the bait packaging, which names the product and its active ingredient; note roughly how much is missing; and record the time you believe he ate it. If he caught a rodent, note its size and whether you saw bait stations nearby, because a poisoned rodent usually means bait is laid somewhere in or around the garden. Photographing bait stations, packaging and the spot where it happened is a fast way to carry accurate information into the consultation. Wear gloves and wash your hands after handling bait or a dead rodent, and keep the material away from other pets and children.
Direct bait and poisoned rodents are both serious
Secondary poisoning — eating a rodent that has itself eaten bait — sometimes involves a smaller amount, but it is never safe to grade it as minor from the garden. The amount depends on what the rodent consumed and how much of it your dog ate, neither of which you can measure by looking. Tell the vet exactly which route you believe it was, and let them judge the risk. Also check the rest of the garden before he goes out again: find bait stations, fallen bait or other dead rodents, and secure or report them so a second episode cannot follow the first.
After the emergency, close the garden risk down
Once he has been seen, follow the vet's monitoring instructions carefully, because some effects unfold over days and follow-up checks may be part of the plan even for a dog who seems recovered. Talk to whoever laid the bait — a neighbour or pest controller — so placement changes or other pet owners nearby are warned. Having his weight, history and details ready speeds any emergency consultation, and with KinsLe's Pet Passport his records travel together in one packet you can hand over the moment you arrive.